Syria crisis: Kofi Annan resigns as peace envoy

• International mediator quits after failure to halt violence
• Scores of bodies found in two suburbs of Damascus
• Obama approves secret CIA support for Syrian rebels
• Fears of an all out assault on Aleppo

Kofi Annan has announced that he will step down as international envoy on Syria on 31 August. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

5.47pm BST

Summary of the latest developments

SYRIA

•Kofi Annan has resigned as the international envoy on Syria, with effect from the end of the month. At a press conference in Geneva, Annan complained of "finger-pointing and name-calling". UN seceretary-general Ban Ki-moon says he is looking for someone to replace Annan.

•Continuing violence in Syria has had a devastating impact on agriculture, according to a report by the World Food Programme which warns that 1.5 million people will need urgent food aid over the next three to six months.

•Syria's banking sector is severely damaged and some parts of it have almost stopped functioning, Reuters reports: "There is little corporate lending or trade finance, but deposits and withdrawals continue."

•The former leader of the opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, says that if Aleppo falls, "then automatically we are going to establish headquarters at the presidential palace".

•US defence secretary Leon Panetta met Jordan's King Abdullah this morning in Amman where they discussed prospects for a political transition in Syria after President Assad is gone, AP reports citing Panetta's spokesman.

Annan's resignation statement: full text

This is the statement delivered by Kofi Annan today in Geneva:

Five months ago, I was asked to take on the role of joint special envoy for Syria, in order to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis, an end to the killings of civilians, the human rights abuses, and a path towards a political transition.

I accepted this task, which some called “Mission Impossible” – for I believed it was a sacred duty to do whatever was in my power to help the Syrian people find a peaceful solution to this bloody conflict.

The severity of the humanitarian costs of the conflict, and the exceptional threats posed by this crisis to international peace and security, justified the attempts to secure a peaceful transition to a political settlement, however daunting the challenge.

The increasing militarisation on the ground and the clear lack of unity in the security council, have fundamentally changed the circumstances for the effective exercise of my role.

Yet the bloodshed continues, most of all because of the Syrian government’s intransigence, and continuing refusal to implement the six-point plan, and also because of the escalating military campaign of the opposition – all of which is compounded by the disunity of the international community.

At a time when we need – when the Syrian people desperately need action – there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council.

The Geneva communiqué, endorsed by the action group for Syria on 30 June, provided an international agreement on a framework for a political transition. This should have been automatically endorsed by the security council and something the international community should have built on.

Without serious, purposeful and united international pressure, including from the powers of the region, it is impossible for me, or anyone, to compel the Syrian government in the first place, and also the opposition, to take the steps necessary to begin a political process.

You have to understand: as an envoy, I can’t want peace more than the protagonists, more than the security council or the international community for that matter.

I have therefore informed the secretary-general of the UN and secretary-general of the Arab League today that I do not intend to continue my mission when my mandate expires at the end of August.

My central concern, from the start – and I think I mentioned it to you – has been the welfare of the Syrian people. Syria can still be saved from the worst calamity – if the international community can show the courage and leadership necessary to compromise on their partial interests for the sake of the Syrian people - for the men, women and children who have already suffered far too much.

I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to both the secretary-general of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon and secretary-general ElAraby of the Arab League for their unflinching support and the grace and cordiality that they extended to me, having given me the opportunity to serve the cause of peace once again.

Updated at 5.39pm BST

5.07pm BST

Annan's departing advice to the world

"My departing advice on how to save Syria" is the headline of an article by Kofi Annan, just posted on the Financial Times website [subscription].

Only a united international community can compel both sides to engage in a peaceful political transition, he says. "But a political process is difficult, if not impossible, while all sides – within and without Syria – see opportunity to advance their narrow agendas by military means. International division means support for proxy agendas and the fuelling of violent competition on the ground."

Annan concludes:

It is clear that President Bashar al-Assad must leave office. The greater focus, however, must be on measures and structures to secure a peaceful long-term transition to avoid a chaotic collapse ...

None of this is possible, however, without genuine compromise on all sides. The stalemate means that everyone must shift: the government, opposition, international as well as regional powers ...

Syria can still be saved from the worst calamity. But this requires courage and leadership, most of all from the permanent members of the security council, including from Presidents Putin and Obama.

Is ours an international community that will act in defence of the most vulnerable of our world, and make the necessary sacrifices to help? The coming weeks in Syria will tell.

4.54pm BST

Anna complains of 'finger-pointing and name-calling'

At an impromptu press conference, Kofi Annan said he accepted his mediating role when it seemed the international community, led by the UN security council, could help end the violence in Syria, enforce a ceasefire and bring about a political transition.

But he told reporters he cannot go on when the council provides no backing for his role, particularly because of the standoff between its five veto-wielding members: Russia and China on one side, the US, Britain and France on the other.

In remarks quoted by AP, Annan said:

When the Syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the security council.

It is impossible for me or anyone to compel the Syrian government and also the opposition to take the steps to bring about the political process.

As an envoy, I can't want peace more than the protagonists, more than [the] security council or the international community, for that matter.

AP adds that Annan said the failed six-point plan commonly referred to as the Annan plan is, in fact, the security council's plan.

He did not rule out the idea of a successor being appointed by the current UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, since "the world is full of crazy people like me, so don't be surprised if someone else decides to take it on."

Russia's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said Russia regrets the decision to step down, according to the RIA Novosti. But Churkin also said he was encouraged by Ban's search for a replacement.

4.47pm BST

Aleppo battle will be 'tougher than Damascus' for Syrian army

The Syrian army's brisk recapture of parts of Damascus is unlikely to be repeated in Aleppo, where open rebel supply lines, hard-to-assail narrow streets and an apparent lack of elite manpower will limit its commanders' options, William Maclean writes in a report for Reuters.

The city's geography makes it problematic to bring the military's full firepower to bear.

"It would destroy a lot of the city and that would undermine the 'support' of the population for the regime," said Nikolaos van Dam, a Dutch historian of Syrian politics and ex-diplomat.

"The regime will need more time to plan. The army is not really well trained for urban warfare," he said. "It is easier for 100 armed FSA men to infiltrate the city and play cat-and-mouse than for the regime to really eradicate them."

While a sustained onslaught in Aleppo may start at any moment, few see the Damascus clashes as a template for Aleppo.

"The rebels seem to have been over-extended in Damascus and expected more progress than they achieved, and they ended up getting a bloody nose despite the bombing," said Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies at Britain's Bradford University.

"But in Aleppo, if anything it is the regime's elite forces that are over-extended. The regime's elite forces are always going to be more focused on Damascus, and while we have to be cautious about these judgments, Aleppo seems like it is going to be rather more difficult for Assad."

On Thursday government troops bombarded Aleppo's strategic Salaheddine district with tank and artillery fire while rebels tried to consolidate their hold on areas they have seized.

Such bombardments are seen by some experts as the likely preferred government tactic in the coming days, rather than any sustained attempt at street fighting.

A Syria expert at Exclusive Analysis, a London-based risk consultancy, said the army lacked the manpower to surround Aleppo and isolate the insurgents there, noting that it had failed to seal off Homs, a city half the size of Aleppo.

"Government forces, lacking sufficient ‘boots on the ground' to recapture the city, are very likely to use overwhelming force, including artillery, helicopters, tanks' main armament and jets against areas where insurgents are based," said the expert, who declined to be named due to the topic's sensitivity.

"These factors are likely to lead to widespread destruction across Sunni neighborhoods in Aleppo."

4.45pm BST

Extra $12m in US aid for Syrian civilians

The Obama administration is giving $12m in new humanitarian aid for Syrian civilians, US officials have told the Associated Press.

The new aid will take total US humanitarian relief to $76m since Syria's conflict began last year. The aid is separate from the $25m in communications equipment and medical supplies that Washington is providing directly to the Syrian opposition.

The additional relief money will go to the UN refugee agency, the international Red Cross, UNICEF and other organisations providing assistance to Syrian civilians, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to divulge the information.

Updated at 4.55pm BST

4.28pm BST

More on Annan's departure

Annan has blamed "finger pointing and name calling" in the UN security council for his departure from role as Syria mediator, according to Reuters.

We understand that it's his decision. We regret that he chose to do so. We have supported very strongly Kofi Annan's efforts. He has another month to go, and I hope this month is going to be used as effectively as possible under these very difficult circumstances.

Churkin added he was encouraged that UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is looking for a successor to Annan.

Chris Doyle, director of Council for Arab-British Understanding, tweeted:

Chris Doyle (@Doylech)

There should be a successor to Annan, but only with a very powerful mandate and a commitment from key powers not to undermine mission #Syria

Ban Ki-moon's statement on Annan's resignation

Statement by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on the Joint Special Envoy for Syria:

It is with deep regret that I have to announce the resignation of the UN-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Mr Kofi Annan.

Mr Annan has informed me, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Mr Nabil El Araby, of his intention not to renew his mandate when it expires on 31 August 2012.

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Mr Annan for the determined and courageous efforts he has made as the Joint Special Envoy for Syria.

Kofi Annan deserves our profound admiration for the selfless way in which he has put his formidable skills and prestige to this most difficult and potentially thankless of assignments. He has worked within the mandate provided to him by the General Assembly and with the cooperation of various Member States. We have worked closely together these past months, and I am indebted to him and his team for all they have tried to achieve. I will continue to draw on his wisdom and counsel, and on the work of the Office of the Joint Special Envoy.

My consultations with the League of Arab States Secretary-General are under way with a view to the prompt appointment of a successor who can carry on this crucial peacemaking effort. I remain convinced that yet more bloodshed is not the answer; each day of it will only make the solution more difficult while bringing deeper suffering to the country and greater peril to the region.

Tragically, the spiral of violence in Syria is continuing. The hand extended to turn away from violence in favour of dialogue and diplomacy - as spelled out in the Six-Point Plan - has not been not taken, even though it still remains the best hope for the people of Syria. Both the Government and the opposition forces continue to demonstrate their determination to rely on ever-increasing violence. In addition, the persistent divisions within the Security Council have themselves become an obstacle to diplomacy, making the work of any mediator vastly more difficult.

The UN remains committed to pursue through diplomacy an end to the violence and a Syrian-led solution that meets the legitimate democratic aspirations of its people. This can only succeed – indeed any peacemaking effort can only prosper – when the parties to the violence make a firm commitment to dialogue, and when the international community is strongly united in support.

Updated at 4.04pm BST

3.55pm BST

Kofi Annan resigns

Kofi Annan says he is giving up his role as the international mediator on Syria, Reuters reports citing UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon

Updated at 3.55pm BST

3.30pm BST

Desperate civilians trapped in Aleppo

Living conditions in Aleppo are getting increasing desperate, but people are trapped in the city because exit routes are blocked by the military, according to resident Bassam A-Najar.

Speaking to our colleague Mona Mahmood on another intermittent Skype connection close to the city, he said:

The humanitarian situation here is very difficult, there is an acute shortage of food and fuel. One litre of petrol used to cost 40 Syrian pounds, now it costs 200 Syrian pounds [£1.93]. Mazzout [domestic fuel oil] used to cost 20 Syrian pounds now it is 60 Syrian pounds [58p]. Gas canister used to cost 75 Syrian pounds now they are 4000 Syrian pounds [£38.50].

We are in a big crisis, we don’t have enough money buy these things. There are long queues at bakeries for bread. You have to wait for an hour or two. We get one hour of power after seven or eight hours of power cuts. Most of the shops are damaged by bullets. People are running to parks and schools to escape the gunfire out of their fear.

I'm 36 years old. I used to do odd jobs but I can’t work now. I have sent my mother, wife and four children to Turkey to escape the shooting in Aleppo. My brother was arrested by the Syrian army a month ago and I haven’t heard from him since.

People can’t flee to Turkey anymore because most of the entrances to Aleppo are sealed off. There are snipers on top of high buildings if they see anything moving they will shoot it, they even fire at animals.

Hospitals are short of medical supplies and doctors are accused by the army of helping in field hospitals belonging to the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Doctor’s families have had threats, warning them not to help the FSA.

It is Ramadan now, we can hardly get a meal at sun set to break our fasting. Still, we are full of hope that the Syrian revolution will win and topple the regime.

3.17pm BST

Cameron and Putin discuss Syria in London

Russian president Vladimir Putin and British prime minister David Cameron met in Downing Street today before heading off to the Olympics together. As far as Syria is concerned, all they seem to have agreed upon is that they will carry on talking.

The Press Association reports:

Speaking after the talks, Mr Cameron pointed to differences in the British and Russian approaches to the Syrian crisis.

But he added: "We both want to see an end to that conflict and a stable Syria. We will continue to discuss with our foreign ministers how we can take this forward."

Mr Putin made no direct reference to his country's stance with regard to long-standing ally Damascus, but said that there were areas where Russia and Britain "see eye-to-eye".

"We agreed to continue working to find a viable solution," said the Russian president.

Putin and Cameron watched judo together at the Olympics after discussions on Syria in Downing Streets. Photo Paul Sancya/AP

Updated at 3.53pm BST

2.45pm BST

More clashes in and around Aleppo

Rebel held districts of Aleppo have come under heavy fire today, an activist from the area told the Guardian.

Abu Abdullah Al-Halbi, spokesman for the Revolutionary Council of Aleppo city and countryside, spoke to our colleague Mona Mahmood from the countryside near Aleppo on an intermittent Skype line.

He said communications to the city were cut last night, but some telephone lines are still working.

Government forces used MiG 21 jets and artillery mortars to bombard neighbourhoods in the north-east of the city including Hanano district, Sakhur district,and Hamadaniyah .

Following the attack the army hit back at nearby rebel-held towns including Tal Rifaat, Hretan and Azaz.

“We don’t know how many martyrs their have been because of the lack of communications,” he said.

Last night night a rocket fell on a house in the countryside around Aleppo and killing seven people, he claimed.

“The Syrian army is trying to move the battle to the countryside to ease the pressure on its soldiers in the city,” Halbi said.

Rebels from the Tawhid Brigade in Tal Rifaat, north of Aleppo, prepare to leave for battle against the Syrian army in Aleppo, early on 2 August, 2012. Photo: AFP/Ahmad Gharabli

Updated at 3.06pm BST

2.20pm BST

Call for consistency on rights abuses

"Just as we condemn gross violations by the pro-Syrian government forces we must also be consistent and do the same when the armed opposition commit abuses and furthermore when they or their supporters try to justify these abuses," Kristyan Benedict of Amnesty International writes in a blog post.

This is not about equivalence or saying the scale of abuses is anywhere near the violations by government forces – it is about taking a consistent approach whenever abuses and violations occur and by whomever. The armed opposition do not get a free pass because their opponent is terrorising, punishing and humiliating civilians across Syria.

So while Syrian government forces continue to perpetrate human rights violations on a mass scale, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, a growing number of abuses by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other armed opposition groups have been reported in recent weeks, including deliberate and unlawful killings as well as torture of captured security forces members. Such killings and the torture and ill-treatment of captives are serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and constitute war crimes.

•Continuing violence in Syria has had a devastating impact on agriculture, according to a report by the World Food Programme which warns that 1.5 million people will need urgent food aid over the next three to six months.

•Syria's banking sector is severely damaged and some parts of it have almost stopped functioning, Reuters reports: "There is little corporate lending or trade finance, but deposits and withdrawals continue."

•The former leader of the opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, says that if Aleppo falls, "then automatically we are going to establish headquarters at the presidential palace".

•US defence secretary Leon Panetta met Jordan's King Abdullah this morning in Amman where they discussed prospects for a political transition in Syria after President Assad is gone, AP reports citing Panetta's spokesman.

Rebels have used captured tanks before, says blogger

On a previous occasion, a fortnight ago, the Hamza Brigades in Rastan are said to have captured a tank and used it to attack a building allegedly used by shabiha and security forces, killing 30. The video below was posted on YouTube on July 16.

Differing accounts of killings near Damascus

Residents, opposition activists, and the Syrian government have offered differing accounts of the killings in the Damascus suburbs of Jdeidet Artouze and Yalda. The death tolls provided by activists vary, but the gist of their accounts was very similar.

The tanks and troops left around 4 pm. When the streets were clear we found the bodies of at least 35 men. Almost all of them were executed with bullets to their face, head and neck in homes, gardens and basements ... They examined my ID and let me go. They seem to have been looking for activists or young men with a certain profile to execute.

The man, who gave his name as Fares, said the bodies were collected at the Omar bin al-Khattab mosque and buried in a mass grave dug by a bulldozer volunteered by the owner of nearby farmland. He added: "There are more bodies in al-Sahl area but we could not reach them because there is an army roadblock there".

A daily briefing put together by Ausama Monajed, a leading member of the opposition National Council, puts the death toll at 65. It says:

After fierce shelling that lasted several hours, regime forces carried out summary executions in the Damascus suburb of Artouze and Yalda, killing at least 65 people dead.

An email from the London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights says 60 people were killed.

Regime forces perpetrated a horrific massacre against civilians in the area [Artouz], killing 50 people at least. Some were killed during indiscriminate shelling, some were burned, and the rest were extra judicially executed by regime forces.

In Yalda it said: "Residents found 10 civilian bodies dumped in one home, all extra judicially executed by regime forces.

An email from the Syrian Revolution General Commission says 56 were killed, including 28 who were executed in Artouz.

It said militia loyal to Assad besieged the town

They carried out extra-judicial executions in the city's square. This occurred after they surrounded the city and invaded it as they opened gunfire indiscriminately and arbitrarily arrested civilians. Sniper stationed themselves on high rooftops. The regime's militias have also broke into houses and shops then began to execute civilians.

In Jdaidat Artouz, Damascus countryside, a unit from the Syrian Army pursued vanquished armed groups, clashing with them and killing, injuring a number of them.

Scores of the terrorists have surrendered and handed their weapons to the authorities.

Image published by the Syrian state news agency purporting to show men captured in Artouz. Their hands are bound in plastic tags. Video from activists shows the bodies of men whose hands were also bound with plastic ties. Photo: Sana

Updated at 1.44pm BST

12.45pm BST

Panetta discusses Syria with Jordanian king

US defence secretary Leon Panetta met Jordan's King Abdullah this morning in Amman where they discussed prospects for a political transition in Syria after President Assad is gone, AP reports citing Panetta's spokesman.

The spokesman said they agreed that Assad must give up power and also discussed the problem of Syrian refugees entering Jordan.

12.16pm BST

Aleppo to be opposition HQ if it falls

The former leader of the opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, has high ambitions for Aleppo.

AP quoted him saying:

If Aleppo falls, then automatically we are going to establish headquarters at the presidential palace. There will be nothing more that will stand in the way of the Free Syrian Army. Hama, Homs to the outskirts of Damascus have in large part been liberated.

Burhan Ghalioun former leader of the opposition Syrian National Council. Photograph: Christine Olsson/AFP

Former US diplomat Daniel Serwer is wary about such territorial boasts. He claims there has been an over-emphasis on territorial control and that it is civilians who are paying the prices.

Unfortunately, English-language press coverage seems to focus almost exclusively on the question of territorial control, which not only changes rapidly but is also irrelevant to the outcome of the civil war.

The ebb and flow of control over territory creates enormous risks for civilians who can’t escape to other areas. Collaboration–even if forced or unavoidable–with one side brings retaliation by the other, even as civilians find themselves unable to obtain adequate food and water, not to mention electricity, cooking fuel and health services. We are in the midst of a major humanitarian disaster in Aleppo and other population centres in Syria.

11.21am BST

US officials pushing for more support to rebels

Josh Rogin gives more details about an Obama directive to give clandestine CIA support, but not weapons, to the rebels (see earlier). He also charts the debates within the administration over whether it should go further.

The White House wants to try to limit US involvement in the crisis before the election, these administration sources said, in what one official said amounts to a "political lid," and the agencies are trying to come up with strategies to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad within those boundaries.

The CIA, for instance, is reportedly aiding in the flow of arms from Gulf countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia by helping to vet arms recipients, as allowed by the non-lethal finding. The Washington Post's David Ignatius also reported that the finding allows the CIA to help the rebels with "command and control."

But some inside the administration are pushing for more.

"We're helping the rebels just enough to survive and maintain a level of momentum but not enough for them to combat the regime writ large," one US official told the Cable.

11.06am BST

Syria's banks 'almost stopped functioning'

Syria's banking sector is severely damaged and some parts of it have almost stopped functioning, Reuters reports: "There is little corporate lending or trade finance, but deposits and withdrawals continue."

Deposits at banks shrank by roughly a third in the uprising's first year as panicky companies and individuals sent money abroad, though initially banks remained profitable as the Syrian pound fell and their foreign currency holdings rose.

In the last several months, however, the banks have been hit harder as the fighting has become more intense.

"There is no lending and demand for money itself is low. Operations and decisions are being made on a day-to-day basis," said a Damascus-based banker, who asked not to be identified because of the political sensitivity of the issue.

A senior Gulf Arab banker who operates in Syria said banks there were still extending credit lines to some of the wealthiest companies and merchants, but that otherwise "banking has been reduced to the bare minimum".

Even so, the outflow of deposits from banks appears to have slowed greatly or even stopped:

Syrians say they have few options left but to trust banks. Mohammed, a travel agent in his late 30s from the city of Homs, withdrew 100,000 Syrian pounds (about $1,450) from his bank in June to keep in a safe at home, but deposited it back a week later before fleeing for refuge in the coastal city of Latakia.

"I had no other choice but to leave the money at the bank. Where should I take it to? Keep it at home? It would be stolen while I wasn't there," he said by telephone. "Take it with me in a suitcase? They'll kill me on the road. Transfer it outside the country – to whom?"

Another factor, Reuters says, is the central bank's success in keeping the exchange rate stable for several months after last year's plunge. This has allowed depositors to retain some faith in the Syrian currency.

While the economic implications of these losses are quite grave, the humanitarian implications are far more pressing. The effects of these major losses are first, and most viciously, felt by the poorest in the country. Most of the vulnerable families the mission visited reported less income and more expenditure – their lives becoming more difficult by the day.

Farmers risk losing much of this year’s crop without agricultural aid, it said. The report said:

Farmers have been forced to either abandon farming or leave standing crops unattended due to the unavailability of labour, the lack of fuel and the rise in fuel costs, insecurity, as well as power cuts affecting water supply. Harvesting of wheat has been delayed in the governorates of Daar’a, Rural Damascus, Homs and Hama.

10.22am BST

Syrian Christians 'not protected' by regime

Syrian Christians have a range of attitudes towards the uprising, Latakia-born priest Nadim Nassar says in an article for Comment is free. "Some support the regime, many have refused to be drawn into the conflict, and others are active members of the opposition," he writes.

Because Christians are a minority, the general view is that they are sympathisers of the regime because they have been "protected" by it. In fact, under the present regime, Christians have never been given special treatment or protection in any way.

Although Christians have not been persecuted in Syria, and we have been free to practise our faith and go to church, we have not been exempt from suffering under the corruption that engulfed the regime and infected much of Syrian society.

Christians were not persecuted even before the Assad family came to power – in the 1940s, Syria had a Christian prime minister. As a Syrian priest, I deeply believe that Christians do not need to hide behind any regime to be protected; we are protected by being Syrians, an original part of the fabric of our society – do not forget that Syria was one of the earliest centres of Christianity 600 years before the birth of Islam.

Updated at 11.12am BST

10.06am BST

Sana salutes the troops

With his forehead trickling with sweat and his body burdened with military costume and outfit, smile shines on the mouth of soldier Ahmad from the Syrian Arab Army while the passers-by are waving their hands in salute and raising their voices with prayer for God's protection of all his colleagues.

"I am from Syria and my duty is to protect people," said Ahmad briefly to Sana reporter when asked from which city he comes, standing alert at a checkpoint in the outskirts of Damascus on his mission to protect tens of people in their cars against terrorists and any booby-trapped car.

Holding his weapon tight, Ahmad, like all of his colleagues, seems saturated with determination and readiness to repel any attempt at attack by the armed terrorist groups that have been wreaking havoc in some areas in the country perpetrating heinous acts of killing, abduction and sabotage ...

Updated at 11.13am BST

9.44am BST

Rebel tank attack near Aleppo

AP reports explosions between Aleppo and the Turkish border to the north, amid continuing fears of an all out assault on the city.

The blasts are coming from near the rebel-held town of Azaz, across the border from the Turkish town of Kilis. The area is a key route for refugees and rebels heading to fight in Aleppo, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) away.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a rebel tank is shelling a military airport near Aleppo, among the first reported use of heavy weapons captured by the rebels.

Cairo-based activist, Alexander Page, claims that internet services have been cut in Aleppo. This makes verifying reports from in and around Aleppo even more difficult than usual. It is also fuelling fears of an assault.

Alexander Page (@AlexanderPageSY)

A full internet services blackout on #Aleppo today as #Syria'n forces are deployed to the city to what could be another massacre

They only started defending our area when it came under attack. We had nothing to do with what happened at the airport [scene of the reported killing of rebels] This was in the war between the government – now they are blaming us all. I am sure they have killed Ahmed and Jassem [his brother and cousin]. What will happen to their families? The children? What will happen to the rest of us? Some people were saying we are Alawites, we are not, we are Sunnis.